


The Bullring

by masked



Category: Supernatural
Genre: Alternate Universe - Coffee Shops & Cafés, Alternate Universe - College/University, BLT Sandwiches, Corny jokes, Fluff, I feel your pain fellow morning lecture comrads, Insulting of Statistics Courses, M/M, Meddling co-workers, Original Character(s), POV Alternating, general cuteness
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2013-08-07
Updated: 2013-08-08
Packaged: 2017-12-22 18:17:56
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 4
Words: 8,595
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/916475
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/masked/pseuds/masked
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Dean hates morning lectures. Castiel hates morning shifts. Luckily, The Bullring provides good food and good company, and who could ask for more?</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Dean

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Dean doesn't really like morning lectures, but he really likes a dark-haired guy that works at a certain cafe (and the BLTs they serve there, of course) that he frequents right in front of his lecture hall and it _was_ just another regular day until he actually gets a chance to talk to said dark-haired guy.

Morning lectures were a bitch, and Dean was a long running member of 'I-Hate-Morning-Lectures' club. He could probably run as the president if such things actually existed.

Huh. Maybe he should be the founding member of said club (he'll be involved with an extracurricular activity too, if he did). He was sure he wouldn't have any problems finding people to join. He could just hand out the recruitment pamphlets in his morning Statistics II class and they could all meet up once a week to bitch about the reasons why they hated morning lectures and order customized sweaters and t-shirts that included clever insults about morning lectures across the chest and on the sleeves.

Freezing his ass off while waiting for the bus to get to campus at 7:25 in the morning was one reason. He _would_ take the 8:00 bus since the actual lecture didn't start until 8:30, but the buses that ran from around 7:45 to 9:00 were always full, and he'd rather not hike his way through a rainstorm to get to the campus (again), thank you very much.

Not to mention that he wasn't exactly a happy person in the morning. He was actually pretty sure that any person that claimed to be an 'early bird' is a literal freak of nature, and should be tested for any otherworldly elements in their DNA that isn't found on Earth. 

All he's saying is, if God was happy enough with Day, he wouldn't have created Night. Some people might argue with him by saying that He was aiming for a 'balance' or some metaphorical shit (Sam would probably beat him up with a Bible in disgust had he heard Dean's theory), but hey, to each their own. They had their theories, he had his.

Freedom of speech was a marvelous thing sometimes.

Moreover, statistics was _boring_. Yeah, it was practical stuff and certainly needed in the real world, but those factors weren't directly correlated to the level of fun and awesomeness. If they were, pants would be the single greatest object created by mankind _ever_.

Actually, scratch that. Pants _were_ pretty awesome in general.

Who came up with morning lectures anyways? Who in the history of mankind thought one day that, 'hey, I bet people will pay attention to me speak about inference procedures at 8:30 in the morning and be awake enough to be tested on it after 2 weeks' and decided that _everybody_ should follow this status quo?

The Devil, that's who. People say that the cleverest thing the Devil had done was to convince people that he didn't exist, but no. The cleverest thing the Devil did was convince people that morning lectures were a thing and it'll help their youths learn, all the while sitting back on his throne back in hell and watch humanity suffer with a can of cold beer in his hand.

So yeah. Dean had a pretty passionate opinion about morning lectures. Pretty negative ones.

Just a little bit.

Breakfast was also another reason why he hated morning lectures. Missing them, that is. A hungry Dean was an unhappy Dean, and any fool who dared to get in between Dean Winchester and his food should be eternally damned for even trying. He's tried refrigerating cooked food the nights before his morning lecture days, but having cold, soggy toast and bacon and scrambled eggs just wasn't the same as filling his stomach with warm and delicious greasy goodness. 

But lo, maybe God did exist and actually gave a shit after all because Dean happened to attend a college that rated number one in the country for food and the eateries around the campus were _awesome_. 

And it just happened so that one of said eateries called The Bullring was right outside of Dean's lecture hall. The round dome-like structure used to be an arena for livestock auctions 110 years ago, but the building was now an on-campus coffee shop with students as employees. 

Except it wasn't just a coffee shop, because they had menus for lunch and dinner, served one of the best BLT sandwiches Dean had the honour of eating, and also had the most comfortable couches that Dean had the pleasure of eating said BLT sandwiches on while reviewing lecture notes for his next class. 

The place was popular for students like Dean who often missed breakfast for their lectures, and the line was usually amazingly long that it snaked around half the interior. Dean didn't mind so much, because he got to watch a certain dark-haired guy that worked there whom he's been harboring a bit of a crush on since the first time he saw him. They had nametags pinned to their left chest, but he didn't know his name because he was usually too far away in line to read it, so Dean usually referred to him as the Cute Guy in his head. 

The employees seemed to take turns doing different roles (or they just went for whatever they needed to at the moment), so Dean watched in line as the Cute Guy sometimes took down orders on tiny pieces of paper with the person's name on it and sometimes behind the register, but mostly behind the grill. The only regretful thing was that the place was very efficient and quick, so the line also went pretty quickly, which meant that Dean only had few minutes to observe him before he disappeared back into the kitchen by the time it was Dean's turn to order. Still, he was pretty content with watching the guy's back as he worked on the grill, so it wasn't a bad deal.

The food took a little longer to come out, so Dean usually used the time waiting for his food wisely to find a spot on one of the couches and listen for someone's voice to call out his name when his food was ready to be picked up. Dean never spoke to the Cute Guy because mornings were hectic at The Bullring and he never seemed to be by the register when Dean paid, so Dean never really cared to move his little crush into anything bigger.

So when his morning lecture was abruptly cancelled, and Dean hadn't found out until he was at the lecture hall reading the note posted on the door for people like Dean who never checked their emails right before coming to campus (something about the professor's pet parrot; Dean didn't really bother reading the rest after the words 'STATS 2050 - CANCELLED MONDAY'), he didn't exactly have the Cute Guy in mind as he headed straight to The Bullring for shelter and food from the cold that bit at him. The giant line that Dean was familiar with wasn't there when he walked in since most of the students didn't have the luck of their professor's pet parrot suddenly did... whatever it did. 

The menu was posted on the side wall where the line usually formed, but since Dean already knew what he wanted, he walked straight up to the ordering panel where one of the employees usually took down the person's name and order on a piece of paper to keep track. A petite blonde penciled in his BLT sandwich on a toasted sesame bagel for here, and Dean walked onward to the cash register where one paid for their food. 

His heartbeat sped up a little bit when he realized who was behind the register. He's never been so close to the Cute Guy before, and never actually had the occasion of speaking to him and he was even cuter up close and _holy hell_ , his eyes were the bluest blue to be ever blue and it was just so _blue_ , jesus freaking christ (don't let anyone ever claim that Dean Winchester is not a poet).

Dean cleared his throat. "Uh, a BLT on a bagel. I'm also gonna get one of those, uh, you know, juice things." Wow, smooth, Dean. No, really. Smooth.

The Cute Guy nodded and punched in the buttons. Dean took the opportunity to glance at his nametag, which read _Castiel_. His parents must sleep well at night for winning the Naming Weirdest Name to Child Award of the Year. "That's $5.95."

Jesus christ on a cracker, that voice should be illegal. 

Castiel blinked at him with mild surprise. Dean blinked back and realized that yeah, he'd just said that out loud.

Dean felt his face heat up as he furiously rummaged his wallet for the money when he heard a low chuckle coming from Castiel's direction. "Sorry." He mumbled in embarrassment as he thrust a $10 bill into Castiel's hands.

Castiel slightly shook his head with a half-grin and handed him his change. Dean accepted it gratefully and quickly stumbled away to a couch while replaying the scene over and over again at the back of his head. He was pretty good at laughing at himself when he made a fool of himself, so he got over it quickly, seeing the comedic side of the whole ordeal.

Still, he couldn't feel but feel a little flustered when Castiel's voice called his name and he was forced into a situation to face him again so soon. Better to rip the band-aid off quickly than never (and his BLT was at stake here), so he walked up to the register where one picked up their food from the cashier.

Castiel must not have expected him to be the Dean he called for, since his eyes opened a little wider in surprise as he stood there with his BLT in his hand. "Dean?" He asked questioningly with a bit of a tilt to his head like a contemplating puppy and Dean really shouldn't find that adorable and sweet on a guy who was probably in his early twenties, but he did anyways so sue him.

"I'm your man." He replied, and _for fuck's sake_ , of fucking course he was suddenly spewing the corniest lines of all times in front of the one guy he wanted to seem attractive to.

Castiel exhaled sharply in amusement and Dean flushed with the heat of laptops with a broken fan. "I swear I'm not usually this corny." Dean squawked as he accepted the plate.

One of the employees walked by with a tub full of sour cream. "Don't worry, Cas here _loves_ corny jokes." He said to Dean and ran away as Castiel frowned at him and hissed, "Denny!"

"Do you?" Dean asked, and Castiel blinked at him. "Like corny jokes?"

"I..." Castiel hesitated. "I don't usually understand jokes." He admitted.

"Oh c'mon, you've gotta understand some." Dean grinned and Castiel only stared back at him blankly. Dean's grin fell. "What, seriously? Never?"

"I was told I don't have what's called common sense." He replied with a slight shrug. Dean studied him to see if that was sarcasm or not.

In the end, he really couldn't tell. "Okay, tell you what? I'm gonna find few really simple, good ol' corny jokes, and we'll figure out if you really don't have common sense or if your friends are just really horrible at telling 'em."

Castiel gave him a small nod. Dean grinned and it was returned with a slight curl of the corner of Castiel's lips, which Dean filed away as a win. Dean quickly returned to his spot, cracked open his laptop and googled corny jokes as he took a bite of his sandwich. When he had a few jokes recorded into his head, he bolted right back to the register where Castiel resided and put both his hands on the counter in a determined fashion.

"Okay, I've got one." Dean said in his most serious voice. "Why did the baby strawberry cry?"

Castiel frowned in confusion. "Strawberries cannot cry."

Dean blinked to see if he was serious. He was serious. "Humour me." He replied with a twitch of his lips, trying to contain the amusement bubbling inside. It was adorable, really.

"Uh, why?"

Dean took a pause. "Because his parents were in a jam."

Castiel's confused frown was upgraded with narrowed eyes, as if he was trying to grasp the concept. 

"Cuz you know, strawberry jam and 'in a jam' being a saying for being in trouble and-" Dean fluttered his hand. "Okay, nevermind. Next one."

Castiel stared at him like Dean was telling him the secret to life. Dean was a little baffled by the attention. He was only telling stupid jokes found on the internet.

"What do you get when you cross a snowman with a vampire?"

"Am I suppose to humour you again?" Castiel asked with an intense gaze.

Dean grinned. "See, I knew you had it in you. C'mon, guess."

"Uhm." Castiel pondered with a frown. Dean waited patiently. "Vampires cannot be crossed with snowmen because snowmen do not possess a reproductive system and therefore cannot breed." he said with finality. 

"A frostbite, Cas. You get a frostbite." Dean replied. He received a blank look. "Because you know, okay, well, you _don't_ know, but it's a play on words. With snowmen associated with the cold and vampires bite people to feed, and you get frostbite when you're cold and it has the word 'bite' in it?"

"Is that suppose to be funny?" Castiel asked seriously.

Dean was a little taken aback. "Well, yeah, I guess so. If you're into corny jokes."

"I don't think I understand the humour in corny jokes." Castiel said, almost sadly. "My answer was more logical."

Dean laughed. "You'll get it eventually. You can practice with me."

He went back and forth between the counter and his laptop for more jokes. He even managed to receive a few snicker from the customers that Castiel rang up like they were the cutest thing they've ever seen. Only when Dean glanced at the clock did he realize that his next lecture was in 15 minutes, and he should probably get going if he didn't want to be late because it was across the other side of the campus. 

"Hey, uh, I gotta go." Dean winced at his abrupt announcement. Suddenly he felt very self-conscious and nervous. "But uhm, I'll talk to you later?" he asked in one breath as if saying it fast enough would magically alter Castiel's decision to a positive.

Castiel hummed with a small grin. "I will see you on Wednesday, Dean."

It wasn't until the middle of his lecture that Dean realized that Castiel knew he frequented The Bullring on Wednesdays. A flare of happiness washed over Dean, and he would never admit to anyone else that he felt giddy over being noticed. 

He absently took notes as he looked up more jokes on Google. Really, he hated morning lectures, but that didn't mean he couldn't look forward for the mornings.


	2. Castiel (I)

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Castiel hates mornings, so of course his boss gives him the morning shifts every single week. Thankfully, his mornings became a little more interesting since That Guy started frequenting The Bullring.

Castiel usually worked the morning shifts at The Bullring because he didn't have any morning lectures. It was just as well that his boss decided to give him all of the morning shifts from Monday to Friday precisely because he decided to avoid morning lectures when he picked out his courses.

If Castiel had the power to curse someone, it wouldn't be having them prick their finger on a needle and die, or something equally silly. He would curse them to be stuck with morning shifts, no matter what job, for the rest of their lives.

After realizing that Castiel was never in a good enough mood in the mornings for the paying customers, his fellow staffs all compromised so that he was working the grill most of the times, cooking the chicken breasts, bacon, eggs and the quesadillas when they were needed. He took orders and worked behind the register when everyone else was busy and it was absolutely needed that he had to talk to people, but it usually also meant no tips for having such a stoic expression, so they all tried to not let that happen. Castiel was fond of the morning co-wokers, but he still looked forward to the end of his shifts and dropping back to sleep until his night lectures.

Then That Hot Guy started coming to The Bullring (Castiel had no partake in his nickname).

It started off with Patricia. "Oh my god." She whispered as she grabbed Becca's arm. "There's a really hot guy out there."

"How hot is really hot?" Becca asked as she curiously poked her head out of the kitchen, a kitchen knife in one hand. "Where is he?"

"Like, really _really_ hot." Patricia replied. Castiel thought Patricia was never good with descriptions. "Like, I can't even compare him to any celebrities because he's hotter than anyone I can think of right now."

"Who are you thinking of?"

"Like uhm, I don't even know. My mind is kind of blank right now because I'm so taken aback by how hot this guy is."

Castiel was now a little curious himself, but he didn't think too much of it because Patricia was always like this whenever a remotely attractive guy walked in. She was making a bit more of a fuss than usual, but this was still within her usual behaviour patterns.

"Where is he?" Becca asked again with a bit of frustration.

"Ohmygod." Patricia suddenly squealed. "He's almost about to order."

Castiel glanced back, and-

Oh.

 _Oh_.

Becca agreed. "Jesus christ." She breathed.

"What? What is it?" Denny asked as he walked by with a tub of mayonnaise for the chicken salad sandwich.

"Patricia found a really hot guy." Becca stated as she diced the celeries.

"Oh, pft. Patricia thinks half the campus is hot." Denny replied.

"But this guy is a real deal." Patricia protested. "He'll be at the register soon so go cash him out if you need proof."

"How would I even know who it would be?"

"Trust me, you'll know." Patricia insisted. "Go, go, go!"

Denny shrugged. "Alrighty."

Castiel watched as Kaitlin was kicked out of the register. She walked over and gave them all a strange look. "What the hell was that about?"

"You'll see." Patricia promised.

Minutes later, Denny came back with a dazed expression. "Holy shit, dude. I would turn gay for that guy if he asked me to."

Becca lightly punched him on the arm. Denny and Becca have been together since the first year of college. 

"I told you!" Patricia said. 

"Told what? What are we talking about? Am I missing something?" asked Kaitlin.

"Get back to the register." Denny said instead.

"You asshole. You better tell me later." Kaitlin threatened playfully.

"Castiel, we have a BLT, three breakfast sandwiches and two caesar chicken wraps." Tessa said from the ordering panel. The ordering panel was basically a flat counter that stuck out without the kitchen wall, and the grill was right across from it in plain view for the rest of the coffee shop.

"Okay." Castiel yelled back. After he was done cooking, he slid the ingredients onto respective sandwiches and wraps. The guy was soon forgotten during the morning rush.

It was the Friday of the same week when he came back.

Patricia wasn't working at the time because she had labs on Friday mornings, but Becca and Denny were. The morning rush died down and it was the mind-numbingly boring in-between rush periods where most students were in lectures, so Kaitlin got off the register to talk to fellow employees.

"Oh yeah, I'm pretty sure the hot guy Patricia was talking about is here." She said during the conversation.

"Which one?" Becca asked absently as she chopped the carrots.

"The one from two days ago, I think? The one Denny would turn gay for."

"I'd have to see him again to confirm." Denny retorted. "It was busy and I only got a glimpse. Could've been delusional for all I know."

"Ooh, I've heard stories about him!" Meghan perked up into the conversation. "Where is he? Patricia was making a huge fuss over him so I wanna see him too."

"He is not an animal on display." Castiel chipped in with a frown as he tossed the caesar salad.

"You know I don't mean it like that!" Meghan huffed. "I'm just curious. It's not like we're busy right now and there won't be another rush until the 9:30 lectures are done."

"Well," Kaitlin pointed at a couch. "He's right there for the public eyes anyways."

They all poked their heads out to glance at him. He seemed to be reviewing lecture notes on his laptop as he bit into his sandwich, having no idea that he was being observed by five staff members. He wore a serious expression as he read through his notes and he chewed thoroughly with extreme concentration. It was somehow all very endearing to Castiel. 

"Okay, yeah." Denny said faintly. "I'd still go gay for him."

"Fuck." Meghan slipped out.

"Do you think he models as a part timer?" Becca said.

"Maybe he's already a full time model and part time student." Kaitlin offered. "I mean, I cashed him out and he looked built, but not in an overly bulky way like those bodybuilders and more like Greek Gods statues kinda way, you know?"

They all offered their own theories while Castiel listened quietly by the grill. Some theories seemed plausible while others seemed completely ridiculous and none of them were actually taken seriously, but the subject kept them entertained until the next rush.

After few months, he was known by several nicknames amongst the staff members. These nicknames included but were not limited to: The BLT Guy, That Hot Guy, The Model Guy, The Greek God Statue Guy, The Guy With The Greenest Eyes Possible (Castiel had yet to confirm this one as he has never seen him up close before), The Guy That Comes Every Monday Wednesday Friday Mornings, The Guy Denny Would Switch Teams For If He Allowed it, and one of Castiel's personal favourite by Patricia because it was beyond ridiculous and silly, The Guy Who Was So Perfect It Actually Physically Hurts To Look At Him.

There was a notion that his name was Dean, but for all they knew it could be a fake name. After all, there were some people who were either too shy or didn't care to give their real names while ordering for food, or in Kaitlin's theory, because he had to stay anonymous and act like a student if he didn't want the paparazzis to follow him during his frequent visits to The Bullring. Still, it felt better for Castiel to refer to him as 'Dean' at the back of his head every once he caught a glimpse of him rather than dub him as That Hot Guy.

One day, Castiel was the one taking orders when Denny suddenly came up behind him and hissed, "Dude, BLT Guy's checking you out."

Castiel's eyes fluttered up to the line, where Dean was standing. Dean seemed to be studying the menu on the wall. "No, he's not." Castiel pointed out, while Denny let out a "Holy _shit_!" 

"Dude, he just looked away as soon as you looked up!" Denny said with childlike excitement, bumping his fist on Castiel's bicep. Denny sometimes reminded him of a puppy inside a body of an overgrown boy. "Cas, my man! Always attracting the hotties!"

Castiel rolled his eyes. "I'm sure you're exaggerating."

"I swear to God, Cas." Denny said seriously with a hand over his heart. "Why would he need to look at the menu if he orders a BLT every single damn time?"

"You're an atheist." he pointed out as he noted down another order from a (probably) first year girl. "And maybe he wanted to try something different today."

Denny grinned. "Yeah, pretty sure he was just checking you out." 

Becca came by to bump both of them on the hips. "Cas, you gotta go back to the grill. Denny's got two complaints about burnt bacons already and he's only been behind the grill for the past half an hour. Apparently not man enough to be behind the grill." she winked.

"My manliness has nothing to do with how I handle the grill!" Denny protested, taking the pencil away from Castiel. "And we gotta set Cas up with The BLT Guy now."

"Uh, why?" Tessa called, who was further down the kitchen.

"He was checking him out!" Denny replied.

"Who was checking who out now?" Patricia asked as she stirred the soup of the day, which was tomato soup with basil. 

"BLT Guy was checking Cas out." Denny chirped. Castiel groaned and took his frustration out on the bacon he was currently cooking.

Patricia gasped. "No way!" She grumbled. "Why are all the hot guys _always_ gay?"

" _EMILYYYY_!" Kaitlin read from the tiny piece of paper with the order and the name written on, indicating that Emily's spinach dip with pita and tortilla chips was ready. She then laughed from behind the register as she rang up a student. "That's ignorant, Trish!"

"It's true." Patricia complained. "Castiel is gay, and The Model Guy is probably gay if he was checking him out and they're both attractive as fuck."

"It's true." Denny agreed to Castiel's bewildered expression. "I'd hit on you every day if I wasn't straight. I swear, the first time I met you I thought you were _trying_ to seduce everyone with your hair all sexily mussed up." The student he was taking the order from looked startled and flushed as she walked away. "Plus," Denny pointed with his pencil upwards to stress his point. "You've got a nice ass."

Castiel really wasn't sure how to reply to that. So he just frowned and said, "Thank you."

"Denny, are you sure you're 100% straight?" Kaitlin asked dubiously.

"Nah." Denny cheerfully replied. "I'm Becca-sexual."

Everybody groaned except Becca, who laughed and punched Denny on the shoulder.

"Ah, it doesn't matter." Patricia said woefully. "I just like objectifying him as much as I want, that's all. Castiel can have him."

"Ignorant and rude!" Kaitlin called again. Tessa laughed.

Patricia waved her aside with a grin. "I jest, my children. Seriously though, Castiel."

Everyone turned to him expectantly.

"I've never talked to him." Castiel replied, firmly fixing his gaze back to the sizzling bacons.

"Well lucky for you, he's a regular here." Tessa replied happily. "Never too late to _get. Things. Down_." She said, waggling her eyebrows.

"Jesus, don't ever say that again." Becca said.

"You are all acting ridiculous." Castiel gritted out. "He was _not_ "checking me out"." He quoted in the air with the metal spatula in one hand. "Since what century are Denny's words a reliable source of information?"

"Hey!"

Everyone else seemed to contemplate for a little, then agreed.

"Wow, thanks guys." Denny said dryly.

"Next time he's in line and Cas is in sight, we'll check if he checks him out again. If he _does_ ," Kaitlin grinned. "We'll know and we can hand over our Castiel to prince charming over there."

"I refuse to be your entertainment for the next two weeks." Castiel replied pointedly.

It lasted about three weeks. They would all push him to the register or to the ordering panel whenever Dean was around, and Castiel obligingly stayed until Dean was close and slithered back onto the grill. They all voiced their complaints when Castiel made an excuse to run away back on the grill as soon as Dean's turn was almost up. They still watched Dean carefully, and all agreed that yes, Dean was definitely interested. But Castiel would have none of it, and once Denny even came up to him very seriously to ask, "Cas, are we actually bothering you? Like, you can tell us if you're seriously not interested."

Castiel considered his actions. It wasn't that he wasn't interested. If anything, he was very, _very_ interested. However, Castiel was a little nervous to get his hopes up. It still seemed a little too ridiculous of an idea for Dean to be interested in him at all, and the image that Castiel had formed of Dean was a kind, gentle man who loved his partner fiercely. The image was too precious for it to be shattered by the real thing and Castiel wasn't even sure if he wanted to be in a relationship.

The fact that he was already imagining himself in a relationship with Dean was a warning that Castiel should never approach this subject again. Dean was an attractive (probably straight) man, and probably was the exact opposite of Castiel's image. 

But there was still the part of him that was too curious and eager to confirm whether or not everyone else's observations deemed to be true. Everyone else around was making such a big fuss about it, and it was hard even for him to not be influenced by the positive encouragements because he _wanted_ to be convinced that he should talk to Dean.

His stubbornness and the fact that he lasted this long without giving into the rest of the staff kept him away.

It all stopped at 8:25 on a Monday morning when Dean walked into The Bullring and took everyone else by surprise. He always came in with the rest of the rush right after the earliest morning lecture, so nobody was expecting to see him until at least 9:30. 

Kaitlin suddenly perked up. "This is a perfect chance!" She exclaimed excitedly. "Cas can't excuse himself because it's not busy right now. Denny, go grab the grill!"

"What-" Castiel started to protest when Becca and Patricia pushed him towards the register. 

"You're not getting out of this one, Cas." Patricia growled. 

"You're always saying how you never talked to him so you can't like him." Becca grinned. "So go _talk_ to him."

And that was how a few minutes later, Castiel was facing the man he had been secretly watching for the past few months. He could feel the gaze of everyone else behind his back, but he ignored it.

Instead, he focused on his job, also pointedly ignoring the forest green eyes with bits of golden speckles around the iris and the freckles that peppered his face as if God had blessed them by kissing every single one of them.

Castiel had faith, but if he ever needed proof that He existed, Dean would be all it took.

Dean cleared his throat. "Uh, a BLT on a bagel. I'm also gonna get one of those, uh, you know, juice things." He said, pointing at the fridge beside him.

Castiel nodded absently, the words barely registering in his brain. He lowered his gaze to distract himself and punched into the register. "That's $5.95." he said. 

"Jesus christ on a cracker, that voice should be illegal." Dean breathed.

Castiel's mind blanked out just then, unable to find anything to say back. He blinked at Dean in bewilderment and Dean blinked back. He flushed in beet red, his freckles standing out in the most endearing way. At the sight, Castiel's nervousness suddenly drained away and chuckled.

"Sorry." Dean mumbled in embarrassment, and Castiel shook his head with joy and maybe a little hope bubbling inside of his chest. He handed him his change back, and watched him as he walked away to his couch.

"Move." Castiel commanded to Denny.

Denny laughed triumphantly and handed him the spot. After cooking the bacons to perfection and carefully arranging the lettuce and tomatoes on the toasted bagel with a touch of mayonnaise, Castiel called for Dean. The second time seeing him up close still didn't prepare Castiel, and he was still a little taken aback by the fact that he was speaking with Dean after months of watching him. He quickly shook himself out of it and handed him the sandwich.

After Dean had left the building, Castiel turned around to everyone pretending to be suddenly busy with their hands, and he shook his head at them in good spirit.

"I can't believe I'll be the one to get to say this to you, Cas." Denny said teasingly. "But I told you so."

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thank you for reading this work! You are all appreciated and loved!


	3. Sam

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Sam doesn't understand why everyone seems so hostile.

"Okay, so this place is the University Center. Most of us call it the UC since it's a mouthful." Dean explained. "Awesome places to eat. Their poutine's a bomb and there's an excellent place with amazing chicken pot pie and mashed potato."

It was a Friday and his high school had a day off today, so he was visiting Dean for the weekend. This was Sam's first time in at a college campus. There were _so_ many trees. "You guys have a lot of buildings that start with "Mac". It's kinda confusing." He wrinkled his nose in distaste.

Dean barked out a laugh. "It's not so bad once you get used to it. Although it's still confusing as hell on the class schedules since they're all abbreviated as MAC, MACK, MACN and MACS. One wrong glance and you wind up in the wrong building."

"Wow." Sam breathed as he took in the tall clock tower. "Your campus is so beautiful. I bet all these buildings have some kind of history."

"Yeah, yeah you freaking geek. Come on." Dean said with a grin. "That's where most of my lectures are." Dean said, pointing at an orange brick building they were walking up to. "It's environment-friendly or whatever so it doesn't actually have heating and circulates people's body heat or something? I don't know."

"Dude, that's so cool!" Sam said in delight. "Your campus seems so eco-friendly. There's so many bike racks everywhere."

Dean rolled his eyes as he pointed at a dome-like building. "And this place is where we're having lunch. Best freaking BLT you'll ever taste."

"I hope they have more than just a BLT." Sam said dryly as he followed after Dean. 

He took in the interior with surprise. It certainly wasn't a place that he thought Dean would frequent with its cozy somewhat-low lighting, round wooden tables on one side and couches on the other, reminding Sam of "those freaking hipster cafes", as Dean put it. One glance at the menu and Sam already approved of the place. They had stuff like BLT for people like Dean, but also a big wide variety of salads, wraps and little stickers on most of the items to indicate that they were vegan and gluten-free. Actually, studying the menu, Sam realized that the only food items Dean would enjoy here was in fact, the BLT and probably that barbeque beef sandwich with mozzarella cheese and tomatoes.

"Dean." Sam said in amazement. "You're a regular here when they have vegan-friendly, gluten-free healthy stuff? Even their pizza is healthy here." Sam stated as he studied the ingredients in the _Mediterrian Pizza_.

"The BLT is worth it. Trust me. Did you pick what you want?" 

Sam nodded, and they both walked up to a little corner that stuck out from the rest of the kitchen. A guy with noticeable freckles and curly blonde hair frowned at them as they walked over. 

"....Dean." he called carefully, dragging out Dean's name. Sam quirked his eyebrows in question at the man's cautious tone, but neither of them noticed. "I'm assuming BLT on a toasted sesame bagel?"

Dean grinned with ease. "Yeah. You?" he nudged Sam on the side.

"I'll have a Greek salad, thanks." He said, wondering why this guy was giving him the stink eye for no reason.

"Uh huh." The guy jotted it down and turned away without another word. He turned to a dark-haired girl and they both... glared at him?

Sam blinked at the sight before following after his brother to the register. "Did I say something wrong or something?" he asked.

"Huh? Why?" Dean replied absently. 

"People are staring at me." He shifted uncomfortably. 

"I'm sure it's nothing. Hey!" Dean suddenly brightened at the sight of the guy by the register. Sam turned to see a dark haired man with very blue eyes and a square chin. His golden nametag read _Castiel_.

Castiel, Castiel... Castiel. Cas.

Oh. So this was the guy Dean's been talking about over the phone since he's met him.

"What are you doing here? I thought you worked morning shifts." Dean grinned, radiating joy like nothing Sam's ever seen before. He handed the guy a $20 bill, and Castiel glanced at Sam with a stony expression before punching the buttons.

"One of the employees needed today off, so I'm taking her shift." He replied in a clipped, cold tone. He didn't seem too pleased to talk to them, so he wondered if the idiot who was his brother read too much into their interactions together.

"Oh, that's awesome dude! You guys don't open during weekends so I was worried how you were ever gonna meet this guy here." Dean clapped Sam on the shoulder and Sam smiled uneasily at Castiel's icy gaze. "Cas, this is Sam. Sam, this is Cas."

The shift was so startlingly noticeable that Sam almost took a step back. It was like watching an ice cube melt in the sun, except fast forwarded about x100 times. Castiel quickly glanced between Dean and Sam, and his whole posture slumped. It reminded Sam of a startled cat calming its arched back and fur down. 

"Oh." He let out softly. "I've... heard much about you, Sam." He stretched a hand out for a handshake.

"It's nice to finally meet you." Sam said, taking his hand. "Dean can't stop talking about you." He rolled his eyes in good jest. Dean flushed a deep beet red all the while Castiel stared fondly.

The blonde guy with the freckles suddenly stepped out from behind the kitchen with a Greek salad in hand. He was almost as tall as Sam, which was a surprise. "Hey, dude, I'm sorry about before." He said with a grin as he handed Sam his salad. "Just thought Dean here was leading Cas on when he had a hot guy like you on the side-"

"Denny!" Castiel hissed. Dean's eyes looked ready to pop out of his skull. 

"-but turns out you're the infamous little bro." He finished, clapping a very red Castiel on the shoulder. Castiel groaned and pushed him off in embarrassment. 

The dark-haired girl who was glaring at Sam before popped out from behind Denny. "Sorry, he's really rude in front of company." She said, pulling Denny away. 

"Oh, c'mon Becca-" Denny whined, who left at the final tug of his apron. 

An awkward silence was left behind.

It was Dean who finally broke the silence. "You thought Sam was my _boyfriend_?" he let out a huff of amusement.

"To my defense, I've never met Sam before." Castiel protested.

Sam drowned out the rest of the conversation as he awkwardly stood beside the register, eating his Greek salad while waiting for Dean's BLT as Dean and Castiel talk about god knows what. Sam replayed the statement Denny had made, and wondered just how much Dean talked about him when he wasn't here. That also explained Castiel's hostility and his sudden change in behaviour (like fresh-out-of-fridge-butter in a microwave) as soon as Dean mentioned Sam's name.

After they sat themselves down, Sam asked, "So how many dates have you gone on with Cas?"

Dean's open mouth shut close and he lowered his sandwich sheepishly. "Uh, we haven't."

Sam blinked. "Huh?"

"We haven't exactly, uhm." He quickly took a bite out of his sandwich and Sam threw him a face. This was his way of avoiding a talk and Sam knew better than that to let him avoid it.

"Why not?" he asked, stabbing a lettuce with his fork.

Dean shrugged and swallowed. "We're friends."

"Yeah but..." Sam glanced over at Castiel, who quickly looked away. Sam hid his smile behind his hand and turned around. His brother's finally found someone he could trust his heart with after Lisa, and Sam was almost impressed that Castiel was able to weasel his way into Dean's heart so fast. Not a lot of people had the ability to show Dean that they were worth it. Besides, Castiel seemed equally as interested in Dean as Dean was in him. "You like him, don't you?"

Dean scowled. "Are we going to eat or should I bring out my yoga mat and start brewing my herbal tea?"

"Bite me." Sam replied with a roll of his eyes. 

"Bitch." Dean said fondly.

"Jerk."

Oh, well. He supposed he should let Dean get on with it at his own pace. If he even had a pace, that is. Sam hummed in amusement as he comfortably sank back into the couch with good food as he listened to Dean's jabbering.

He seemed to be adjusting to his college life nicely, and Sam was glad for it.


	4. Castiel (II)

Castiel knew this day would come. He had known since the last staff meeting, and the thought had pained him ever since, fearing every day as he walked to work that it would be that day.

Today, was that day.

> To all of our valued customers at The Bullring,
> 
> We have found out recently that we have been cooking bacon without a proper exhaust hood. We love bacon, and we know you love them too, but unfortunately for both of us, we must discontinue any items on the menu that contain bacon as we can't cook them for you anymore.
> 
> The following items have been removed from the menu:  
>  The BLT sandwich  
>  The BLT bagel  
>  The bacon in our breakfast sandwich  
>  The real bacon crumble bits in our caesar salad
> 
> We really are truly sorry for this recent turn of events. The good thing is that we still have what we believe to be a diverse menu here at The Bullring and we are confident that there is still something here for everyone!
> 
> We appreciate your continued business here at The Bullring.
> 
> Yours truly,  
>  The Bullring staffs
> 
>  
> 
> Effective starting November 24, 2012

Castiel scowled at letter that was neatly taped on the door and walked in, ignoring everyone and went straight to the grill. 

Now that they didn't have the BLT on the menu anymore, Dean wouldn't come to visit. He would be a fool to think otherwise, and he was no fool. He knew Dean was a customer in the end and why should he bother to come other than for his breakfast? 

No reason. There was no reason for Dean to come anymore. No excuse for Castiel to see his face every other mornings.

"Hey, Cas." Denny bellowed into the air as he waved enthusiastically. 

"Leave me be." Castiel replied gloomily as he tied his apron tightly around his waist. 

"Whoa, someone's a little grumpy this morning." Denny quirked his eyebrows. "It's Friday today." He said knowingly.

"What of it?" Castiel snapped. At Denny's startled expression, he suddenly felt childish. "I apologize. I didn't mean to be harsh."

"It's kay." Denny said, now concerned. "What happened?" 

"The letter on the door." Castiel said, not meeting Denny's eyes as he turned the oven on. 

"Yeah? So?" Denny frowned, still not getting the whole picture.

Castiel let out a frustrated groan. "Dean." He ground out.

That was enough for Denny to understand. "Dude, really? You think-" He made a face at Castiel. "You don't actually think he's not gonna come visit you anymore, do you?"

"Visit me? He comes for the food, not for me." Castiel frowned. 

"Uh, no. I'm pretty sure those BLTs became an excuse a long time ago to see you." 

Castiel sighed exasperatedly. "Denny."

"I'm serious! Holy crap, dude." Denny stared at him incredulously. "You actually have no idea. Jesus, wow, okay. This is why we keep saying you don't have common sense."

"Thank you, get to the point." Castiel said dryly.

"Anyone who's seen you two, and I mean _anyone_ , can see you guys have it real bad for each other. And that's only after what, three weeks of talking to each other?"

"Which is precisely why I think you're mistaken." he replied, pulling away. "We're acquaintances."

"Wannabe fuck-buddies." Denny corrected. Castiel rolled his eyes. He wasn't attracted to Dean only for his physical attributes. "Seriously, though. Haven't you noticed how he stopped looking at his laptop everytime he eats now, and talks to you instead? Why do you think we let you have your break when he's here?"

Castiel hesitated. He didn't want to get his hopes up, he really didn't. It was better to not have any expectations than be let down after expecting something out of Dean. "I still think you're mistaken." He said with finality.

Denny put both his hands up with the palms facing towards him. "If you say so. But I'm telling you, he'll be here today."

"How can you sound so sure?" Castiel muttered to himself, but Denny heard him anyways.

"Because I'm a genius." He replied fondly. Castiel let out a huff of amusement and cooked some chicken breasts for an order. 

He kept his eyes on the door throughout the morning. Even if, _if_ (and this was a very big _if_ ), Dean came by today, he wouldn't have dropped by until at least after his morning lecture. But Castiel's gaze kept whipping back to the heavy, wooden door every time someone walked in, only to feel a wilt of disappointment at the non-sighting of Dean. He could feel the empathetic looks the rest of the employees were giving him, which he decidedly ignored. 

Around 9:30, he knew he was jittery and jumpy. He messed up a few orders, which wasn't like him.

Around 9:45, he reasoned with himself that maybe Dean was talking to his professor after the lecture.

Around 10:30, he realized that he had his hopes up against his wishes after all and felt them punch him in the guts like they were physical blows.

Around 11:00, he felt saddened by the idea of BLT sandwiches holding more worth in Dean's head than Castiel, and wondered how his life had come to him being jealous of a sandwich, and actually lost against it.

By the end of his shift, he saw Denny's apologetic looks shot his way, and waved it aside. It wasn't Denny's fault that Dean didn't come, after all. He moodily walked back to his apartment and moped for the rest of the weekend, his schoolwork unable to hold his attention. 

He was being ridiculous. It wasn't as if they've even ever gone on a date. They were friends, not dating. And yet he was acting like someone who was stood up on. 

Monday rolled around, and he dreaded the thought of going back to work. Not only was it going to be another Dean-free day, but he figured if that didn't kill him by the end of the day, the sympathetic looks he will receive from everyone will.

He sighed. He knew he was being dramatic, but it was hard not to be when the only thing he was looking forward to during mornings was Dean and he was now long gone. He almost considered calling in sick just so he could mope a little more.

However, work was work and it was what paid the bills, so he wasn't going to let an absence of one individual get to him. He planned on gritting through his shift today. And the Wednesday after. And the Friday after that.

Still, it was a little hard for him to remind himself every time he glanced at the door that Dean wouldn't be walking in anymore and throw him his charming smile. It was only 9:00, but Castiel already felt a prick of longing for Dean's company. He found his thoughts keep wandering back to Dean, and harshly forced himself to snap out of it every time. He begrudgingly realized he was acting like a love-stricken teenager, and he hated it. 

Tuesday went by exactly the same way, and he barely dragged himself back to his apartment after the end of the shift, and fell asleep as soon as he hit his bed, wishing he had asked Dean for his number while he had the chance. It was too late to think like that now, but he still regretted it.

Dean walked in on Wednesday.

Castiel ignored Denny's triumphant grins thrown his way. "Dean." He said in amazement.

"Heya, Cas." Dean grinned. "Miss me?"

"I..." Castiel smothered all the hope that flared in his chest at that moment. "We don't serve BLTs anymore."

Dean blinked. "Yeah, I know, Cas." He laughed. "I know it seems doubtful that I'm in college but I can read."

"I don't doubt that." Castiel frowned in confusion. "Why would I doubt that? You're very smart."

Dean flushed a little. He cleared his throat. "Anyways, I got a barbeque beef sandwich. I _can_ eat something other than BLTs." He chuckled a little.

"Oh. Right." Castiel lowered his gaze back to the register. "For breakfast?" he questioned.

Dean shrugged. "Any food is breakfast food if you eat it in the morning."

"I don't think that's how categorizing breakfast food works." he replied with a frown.

Dean laughed. Castiel had missed Dean's laughs. "To each their own, I guess."

After their transaction, he felt the question blurt out of his mouth before he could stop himself. "Where were you on Friday and Monday?"

Dean seemed surprised and pleased at the same time. "I was sick until yesterday. Couldn't move without hurling everywhere." He winced. "Sorry, you probably don't want to hear that."

Castiel felt a rush of relief flood through him. It wasn't that Dean didn't want to come, it was so that he _couldn't_ come. 

"I thought you would stop coming after we stopped our service of BLTs." Castiel said quietly. 

Dean frowned, then smiled. "I don't just come here for BLTs, you know." He replied.

Castiel snapped his head up to meet Dean's green eyes to see the sincerity behind it. His heart sped up as he suddenly realized what he must do if he didn't want a repeat of the past week and never go through his insecurity of never seeing Dean again.

"Hey." Dean cleared his throat. "I was wondering if you-"

"Dean, we should have dinner together." Castiel said clumsily before he reconsidered his decision over the fear of rejection. 

Dean looked stunned, and quickly recovered with a radiating grin that did strange things to Castiel's stomach. "Yeah, we should. Where do you want to go?"

They finally exchanged phone numbers as they planned out the date, and it was almost time for Dean to leave for his next lecture.

"So uh," Dean almost looked sheepish. "I'll see you later, Cas." His grin was blinding.

"Yes." Castiel replied faintly, still quite not believing he was on the receiving end of that grin. He almost slumped onto the register as all the adrenaline rushed out of his system after Dean left the building. 

"See? I told you he'd come back." Denny said from behind him. Castiel chuckled quietly. 

"I asked him on a date and he said yes." he said faintly.

"Yeah, real surprise there. C'mon, we can't have you be jellified for the rest of the shift." Denny clapped him on the back happily. 

Castiel made few mistakes during the rest of his shift, though this time it was because his mind was too jumbled up with happiness to function correctly.

He was happy. He was _estatic_. Castiel really didn't like mornings, but that didn't mean he couldn't look forward to a certain freckled, green-eyed individual it brought him.

**Author's Note:**

> ...And lest it be known that Denny's words of wisdom _are_ in fact a reliable source of information.
> 
> This work is fictional. I may have based the cafe from an actual eatery from a particular university but any events, people or names that seem similar in real life at any real Bullring restaurants out there is completely coincidental. Everything is the character's opinion, not the author's opinion.
> 
> (except about morning lectures. I'd be the vice president of 'I-Hate-Morning-Lectures' club. Oh, and BLTs. Those are pretty awesome. And pants. Okay, maybe not everything is the character's opinion, but you get what I mean.)
> 
> Thank you for your time to read this work! You are all appreciated and I wish you all a fantabulous rest of the day!


End file.
